


Easier When I'm Not Alone

by sad_goomy



Series: Gladmoon Week 2019 [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkwardness, F/M, GladMoon Week, Late Night Conversations, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Sharing a Bed, lonashipping, the kids go UB hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-11-29 06:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18219506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sad_goomy/pseuds/sad_goomy
Summary: After two weeks of tracking down dangerous Ultra Beasts, it's no wonder that Moon and Gladion are having trouble sleeping.





	Easier When I'm Not Alone

 

**Nerine**

_Connection, Happiness, Security, and Affection_

 

* * *

 

After almost eight hours straight of trying to track an Ultra Beast, Gladion and Moon are more than ready to collapse into their beds at the motel. They reach their doors, right next to each other, and mumble their good nights before heading in. 

Less than an hour later, and Gladion is still wide awake, staring at the ceiling and begging sleep to come. It ignores his silent pleas, however, and he groans, rolling over on his side with a frown. He stares out the window, at the palm leaves shifting gently in the breeze, just shadows in the moonlight. It reminds him of earlier, when the brush of Lush Jungle had shifted too quickly, and Moon jumped in front of him, arms outstretched, ready to attack. 

Ready to protect him. 

He fidgets again, throwing the blanket off him with a groan as his mind races down this new trail of thoughts. Most of them revolve around her; it’s only rational, considering they’ve gone from seeing each other maybe once a week to spending every day in life-threatening situations for two weeks now. 

Is she having as much trouble sleeping as him? Is her adrenaline still racing? Has her heart rate adjusted to the constant thrill? Are her dreams morphing more and more into nightmares? 

He stands, his feet guiding him to the door as some part of him decides he’ll check on her, he’ll just check on her, just  _really_ quickly – maybe they’ll talk, or maybe she’ll be asleep and he’ll apologize, and she’ll laugh in that one way she does and... 

And she’s at his door. 

They both flinch, startled half to death, and something falls from her hands and rolls to his feet. As Moon regains control of her breathing, Gladion bends down to pick it up, rolling the can of soda in his hands. When he looks back up, she’s holding a lemonade in her hand, and a sheepish smile has crawled across her lips. 

 

“Sorry, I -” 

“My bad -” 

 

A pause, an awkward laugh, an Oranguru calls in the distance. 

She jerks her chin towards the can in his hand, explaining, “I couldn’t sleep, and uh, wanted to see if you were still up, but I didn’t want to come empty-handed.” 

“Thoughtful.” He keeps his eyes on the soda, because if he looks up at her face, he knows her gray eyes will go straight through him and see that he really is touched. It’s even his favorite, which is either a lucky guess, or she’s taken notice of it every time he’s come back from a vending machine. 

The idea of her watching, of her remembering, sends a not-unpleasant thrill down his spine. 

“A-are you going to try and sleep?” She bites her lip, cursing herself for the stammer as she forces her voice to slow down despite the nerves. If she can face down aliens from another dimension, then surely, she can talk to a cute boy. “I figured if you weren’t, we could hang out for a bit.” 

He doesn’t say anything, just steps aside and lets her walk into his room. There’s a faint floral smell that drifts past him when she enters, and he realizes she must have showered, her hair still wet and leaving damp spots on the shoulders of her T-shirt. 

She looks at the armchair in the corner, briefly considering it as a spot, but then decides to sit on the edge of his bed, twisting open her bottle of lemonade. He joins her, keeping a good foot between them, and wordlessly opens his soda, only for the fizz to rush through the opening and over the top. He curses under his breath, holding the can out and watching it drip onto the floor, heat crawling up his neck as he hears her laugh (in that one way she does). 

It’s quiet, but it’s nice after a long day of noise of constant listening. She hesitates to break the silence, her voice small. “So why can’t you sleep?” 

“Too much adrenaline, I guess.” He shrugs, taking a long drink of soda to keep from adding anything else; they probably don’t know each other well enough for him to admit that he might be thinking about her late at night. “What about you?” 

Moon falters, eyes diverting to the carpet as she sits further back on the bed. “A bad dream.” 

“What about?” 

“Nothing really, I...” The thought trails off, and when she glances at him, all she finds is genuine curiosity and the beginnings of concern knitting his brows together. “It’s been happening since I came back from Ultra Space. Sometimes I swear I’m still there, and I wake up and feel weightless, like I can’t move and...” 

She doesn’t realize that she’s crying until his arm is around her, pulling her closer to him, grounding her. Her hands have started shaking so badly that she has a hard time putting the cap back on her lemonade, essentially dropping the drink to the floor. 

He knows the signs all too well, and holds her, waiting for the word to see what she needs. When she remains silent, he tells her simply, “I’m sorry to hear – you can wake me up whenever it happens.” 

There’s a lump in her throat, but she swallows and it’s gone, replaced instead with the warmth of his body pressing ever so slightly against hers. “Can I ask something weird?” 

“I can handle weird,” he chuckles, and she joins in, because that’s an understatement. They both know their lives have gone far past weird at this point; it’s just nice to have someone else to laugh about it with. 

She takes another breath. “Can I sleep here tonight?” Her eyes go back down to her hands as she fidgets with her fingers, trying to hide the worst of her blush from him as she explains, “It’s easier when I’m not alone.” 

He knows the feeling. 

Gladion nods, finishing his soda and setting the can on the table as she lies down on the other side of the bed. 

Even though his back is facing her, and their bodies aren’t even touching, he can practically feel the heat radiating off of her, and he can feel the weight melting off her shoulders as she relaxes further into the mattress. 

The adrenaline is back, and as she drifts to sleep once more, he finds himself awake and staring at the wall with the beginning of a dumb smile working its way onto his lips. 

He’s still not quite able to sleep, but this time he doesn’t mind a bit. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Got this up a little later than I wanted because I was on a flight, but just something short and sweet because dang these kids have been through a lot


End file.
